Patrice Riemens on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:24:41 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime> Marina Petrella: words to tell my empathy |
Marina Petrella, having fled to Fance while on the run for the Italian authorities as a member of the 'Red Brigades', was a political refugee of sorts in France by decision of the former president of the republic, Francois Mitterand (as he did regarding scores of other fleeing Italian far-leftists, eg Antonio Negri). Meanwhile she was condemned in Italy to a life sentence, on accusation of complicity to the murder of a police officer. The current French governement, under leadership of Nicholas Sarkozy, first as minister of the interior, and now himself president of the republic, had rescinded this order, and threatened to extradite Ms Petrella and deliver her to the Italian authorities. This caused Ms Petrella, who had been living an entirely peacefull and ordinary working life untill now, to collapse into life-threatening depression necessiting her taking into hospital where her health was deteriorating rapidly. Now president Sarkosy, apparently under injunction of his wife Carla Bruni and her sister, has decided to withdraw the extradition order, under the humaitarian clause. Marinea Petrella had written this letter on July 19 to her counsel, Ms Irene Terrel, and it was published in to-day's edition of the French daily Le Monde. Marina Petrella, former member of the Brigate Rosse The loss of a human life is always a tragedy and the cause of incommensurate suffering for the relatives of the deceased. I have felt this, even as thirty years ago, I believed in and joined, like thousands of others, a revolutionary, armed movement that wanted to change the world. It was a harrowing decision to make. The pain of the victims has always, always been with me. Reticence to publicise this sentiment and my absolute rejection of any benefit that may accrue from such a statement are the sole reasons why I did not express it earlier. "Regret" I find a to weak word and a word that sometimes does commit as much as it should. For the past twenty years, by way of an active form of non-violence, I have tried to make my actions bespeak a more authentic message than words can. To-day, in offering my most intimate thoughts, and this with great restraint and unlimited modesty, I would like to express my sorrow, my profound respect, and, if it would be accepted, my empathy. Are the odds ever so slight that I will be heard, and believed? I leave it to my counsel persuade those to whom they are adressed of the sincerity of these lines, harboring the boundless hope that she will succeed. # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mail.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@kein.org